Best Practices
The following best practices have enabled developers worldwide to build great, successful games for Google Play.
Get Users
1. Optimize for great ratings
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Beta test to ensure your games are ready and poised for great ratings.
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Optimize graphics, frame rates, and responsiveness with the Hardware Scaler and OpenGL ES.
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Be sure your APK is small, then provide game content through over-the-air downloads.
2. Build buzz
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Build a community with social media, communities to get and keep users talking.
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Promote your games with official Google Play badges and links to your products on Google Play.
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If you ship on multiple platforms, doing so at the same time can maximize your marketing impact.
3. Get Visibility
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First impressions count: highlight the game's best features in screenshots, videos, and description.
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Integrate Google Play Game Services, so your game is displayed in the Google Play Games App.
Engage and Retain
1. Keep users coming back
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Achievements, leaderboards, multiplayer, and cloud save help engage users and bring them back.
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Hold tournaments and offer promotions, then announce them through notifications.
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Sign in users early, then automatically. Before their first sign-in, save progress locally.
2. Give users a reason to invest their money
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A majority of the top grossing games use in-app purchases. Use them to unlock content and allow players to enhance their game play.
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Google Play In-app Billing makes purchasing easy with several forms of payment.
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Provide content updates regularly to give users limited edition items to win or purchase.
3. Earn players’ love
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Measure your campaigns to see what’s driving quality users to install your games.
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Analyze in-game use to steer content updates and prolong the life of your games.
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Respond to reviews and get valuable feedback from the community you’ve built.
Beyond the Basics
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After you've launched in your market of strength, expand into other markets strategically and localize your apps as you go.
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Provide content updates on a regular basis to keep users engaged.
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Building educational games? See the Education Guidelines.